The use of manipulatives and education materials to teach young children about science and conservation

The purpose of this project is a preliminary evaluation of the usage and the effectiveness of the Splash Zone Family Kit to help instill a love of the ocean. The kit consists educational materials given to families of Monterey and Santa Cruz Head Start communities. The materials are used not only in the school center but also at the Monterey Bay Aquarium which the families visit. The redundancy of the materials in different settings is implied as an important component to instilling a love of a nature and an eventual conservation ethic. This project studied the impact, use and conversations around these materials